Objective: To explore the protective effects of lemon extract and silymarin against acute alcoholic liver injury in rats. Methods: Forty-five adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups:blank group

model group

silymarin group

lemon extract group

and combination group（silymarin lemon extract）

（n = 9 in each group）. The levels of alanine aminotransferase（ALT） and aspartate aminotransferase（AST） in serum and the content of malondialdehyde（MDA） and activity of superoxide dismutase（SOD） in liver tissues were measured. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to observe the pathological changes of liver tissues. Results:Compared with the model group

the combination group had significantly decreased serum ALT and AST levels

significantly increased SOD activity and significantly decreased MDA content in liver tissue homogenate

and significantly decreased liver coefficient and liver steatosis（P < 0.05）. The serum levels of ALT and AST in the silymarin group and lemon extract group decreased significantly（P < 0.05）

and the MDA content in liver tissue homogenate of the silymarin group also decreased significantly（P < 0.05）. Compared with the lemon extract group

the combination group had significantly greater reductions in the serum levels of ALT and AST（P < 0.05）. Conclusion: The protective effect of lemon extract alone on the liver is weak

while the combined application of lemon extract and silymarin has a synergistic effect in protecting the liver.